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For immediate release
Sept. 11, 2013
DES MOINES - Des Moines residents on Tuesday elected Rob X. Barron to the Des Moines School Board. The election results will be certified on Friday.
Barron, 33, is a charter member of the League of United Latin American Citizens Council 307 in Des Moines and serves as the council’s sergeant at arms. He is the first Latino to be elected to serve on the Des Moines School Board and the first Latino elected citywide in Des Moines history.
“I ran for the school board not with just an eye toward the next four years, but with my sights set on the next 20 years,” Barron said. “As a new father, I feel a great sense of urgency to jump in with both feet and do everything I can to strengthen our schools. I will be an advocate for what I believe makes for strong schools: richer, more diverse educational opportunities, safe and welcoming classrooms, superb teachers who are valued by their district, and a challenging, relevant, student-centered curriculum.”
Barron, a Des Moines native, is the son of Xavier and Kris Barron. Xavier Barron was a career public servant with the Des Moines Police Department and ran for Des Moines City Council in 1979. The Barron family’s roots in Iowa extend four generations to Rob Barron’s great-grandparents who immigrated to Iowa from Mexico 90 years ago.
Rob Barron has worked for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., since 2002. He currently is Harkin’s state staff director. He previously worked for four years as an education policy adviser to Harkin in Washington D.C., where he was responsible for education legislation issues on all levels from early childhood education to higher education.
Barron and his wife, Angela, moved back to Des Moines in 2009 and reside in the Beaverdale neighborhood. Angela is an artist and an art teacher in the Urbandale School District. They have a son, Javy.
“As a father himself, Rob understands the importance of the future of the public education system in Des Moines,” said Joe Enriquez Henry, state director of Iowa LULAC and president of Council 307. “We are proud to have such a vibrant, well-informed and educated member of our community elected to public office.”
Founded in 1929, the League of United Latin American Citizens is the oldest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. There are more than 880 local LULAC councils, which hold voter registration drives, provide awareness to residents about language and immigration issues, sponsor programs and advocate for Latinos.
For more information, contact Joe Enriquez Henry at 515.208.7312; or Melissa Walker at 515.681.7731 or media@iowalatinos.org, or visit www.lulaciowa.org.
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